Pro Touring-Style 1971 Nova Street Machine
Strange Encounters: A Pro Touring ’71 Nova that provokes some unusual comments
Anybody who’s ever tried to find a really special Chevy knows firsthand that life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. You start out looking for one type of car and you end up with a novel encounter. Or in Marc Tavalero’s case, a Nova encounter.
Initially, he had a Corvette in mind but was diverted by a high-caliber ’71 Nova gathering dust in the corner of a shop. At first glance it didn’t seem all that unusual, but the closer he got the better it looked. What caught his eye was the LQ9 block bumped up from a factory output of 345 horses at the wheels to 490. And it boasted an array of other weapons-grade mods.
What led him to this Nova? As a longtime Chevy collector, he’s run into a number of surprises over the years while pursuing his Bowtie passion. So he was hardly a novice when he spotted it and realized what he had come across. “I’m no stranger to classic Chevrolets as I have owned too many to count,” Marc relates. “Now, I am almost 53 years old and have been driving classic Chevys since the age of 17.”
Three of his previous cars were frame-off builds so he knows the time and challenges involved when constructing these machines. He was initially engrossed in the Pro Street scene, starting with a couple of ’55 Chevys, one LS6-powered for daily driving. The other, running an 8-71 blown 509, “was built to rattle the fillings loose in your head.”
During the lengthy time it was taking to build the second Pro Street ’55 Chevy, he acquired a couple of Chevelles, one with a 468 roller engine and the other with a Pro Touring setup. Bitten by the bug, this project led to another one: a ’68 Camaro. But that’s when his brother-in-law asked if he’d find him a classic Corvette. It was during his search for a Vette that he stumbled across the Nova.
“I loved it because it wasn’t a Camaro or a Chevelle,” Marc says. “When I started looking at the car I was floored with the level of craftsmanship and detail. Definitely a next-level build.”
It turns out that Jay’s Hot Rods in Sacramento, California, had already invested 1,100 hours in the project, even though it first appeared to be in decent shape. “When we first put it on the lift, I was astonished,” explains Jay Hitchcock. “All the chassis components were shot—shocks, brakes, bushings, tie rods. It just wasn’t safe.”
The previous owner of the Nova called it “the Domino” because of all the parts that kept falling over. Jay set out to correct and upgrade everything, doing a complete underbody restoration and restomod with a mini-tub and rollcage. Other hands worked on the car as well, including a suspension tune by Custom Works Performance in Butte, California, and an interior by Robert Craven Upholstery of Sacramento. Once Jay completed the car, the owner enjoyed it for a couple years, but eventually lost interest.
But when Marc encountered the Nova, it was no surprise that he totally forgot about his plans for a Corvette. What did he find to be so compelling about it?
